Coaster brake



April 3, 1951 w. HALL 2,547,864

COASTER BRAKE Filed June 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Mz/fer A, /7d/Z April 3, 1951 'w; L, HA L 2,547,864

COASTER BRAKE Filed June 11, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. M/Z er 1. Half Patented Apr. 3, 1951 =oo srrER BRAKE waited. iH lL- R HfiM Mich assignor: to Whiz- ;zer Motor Gomnany, RontiaalMich automateition of -,,De1aware abipnl catien Juneau, 8; eria -N9- 1 2 495 le-192 b.)

l1 Glhiiill.

This inventionrelates to"bicycles, motorbikes. and the like and in particular refers-to coaster brakes therefor;

Inrecent years developments in bicycles and the application of motors thereto have resulted in'greatly increased weights and speeds of operation and consequently in a need for improved brakes. Brakes of the enlarged drum type which would satisfy this need have'been proposedfbut prior suggestions have other objections or 'disadvantages when compared with the coasterbrakes :o'f the more conventional types. One of the "major" objections has -been that the drum type "brakes "heretofore provided have --extended sub- "stantially outsideof the spokes ofthe wheelwhere they-often interferedwiththe-legs of theri'der or undesirably increased *the "width of the bicycle, vsmother objection has :been that the bearings -wear-rapidly.

TBecause oftheseandother-disadvantagesof the structures nowavailableto the-art, it 'isanobject 'of this invention toprovide a compact coaster "brake of "the'enlarged drum type which maybe fitted between the spokes of aiwheel. Another 'object isto decrease the rate of wearo'fthe bear- 'in s'in coaster brakes of this type. Ajfurtherobject" is to .provide an improved connection between the drive sprocket and the' brakewshoes forjthe purpose (if'faoilitating the braking operation and to reduce or eliminate shock loads uponiresu'mption of forward motion when the brake. is released. "The e and otherobjects of ,the invention are v,accomplisheldliby a construction in whichthe hub is rotatablvs supportedby' bearings, at each end, and an enlarged outwar,dly n opening". brake Edi-um jis aflixed Lthereto gintermediate the ,ends. .V'Ihe idrum has anouter radial'flangewhichis adapted ltosreceivev spokes-at one side 9f the wheelandis substantially in a plane with a rotary hub bearing, 4

"thereby reducing or eliminating-overhang on the bearingmand thus reducing, its load and prolongina {its life. The other end I of .the hub is provided with means to receive wheel spokes so that-the huband brake drumare compactly housed be.-

tween-the spokeson opposite sides ofthe wheels. In :order to actuate the expanding cam *for the :brake shoes. which cooperate with the-brakedrun :a -.brake actuator is .rotatablygnountegi n.; i;-1 e wheel zaxleand hasrgratchet teeth which-are rivzingly :engaged Joy ra clutch :member can n shack ;:peda1ing. f The brake :actuatorgcarriesggearz teeth which zengagesa {SEOIJOI thatz isikeyed'rto {the expanding cam so that :by-zselecting 1the:=relative z'diameters of ::the:gear rand sector zthe lmer arm 2 and thus th e p din force on th rak h e can beyaried. The actuator and clutch are yield.- abLy connected together for rotation by a retard,- ing ring and "the expanding cam is designed'so that upon release of braking forces automatic brake contracting means pivots it to'rotate the actuator and thus the clutch into apositionof incipient engagement withthe hub.

Other objects and'features of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the accompanying drawingsin which: 7

Figure 1 isaside elevation fromthe drums-end of the'improved coastercbrake;

Figure 2 is a longitudinalsectiontaken onthe line 2-2 of Figure'l;

Figure3 isasectional-view, similar-to Figure l with theanchor plate removed, taken -a1ong-- the finest-F3 of Figure=2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged section through the ex- -panding camtaken'on the line 47-4 of Figure "2; Figure'5 is an enlarged cross section on-the'line E-"S of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross section-on the line 6-6 of Figure'2; and

Figure 7- is'an enlarged detail view in perspective of a retarding ring which may be employed i-n'the practiceof theinvention.

As illustratedin the drawings, the'bicycle wheel (not shown) has the usualfixed axle I. The right gorsprocket endofthe-axle I may have a'bearing cone or-race 3--which cooperates with an internal bearing race Bin-thed-rive worm I- to 'form a track "forthe ball* bearings 9. The drive worm I is also rotatably mounted on the axle Iby means of its "with the" bearings 9-a-nd held in-fixed-axial-posiition by rneans 'of a-; shoulde r Y I 5-;an d-a;lockni 1t I I. "The wormilhasan outer bearing race I9 which cooperat s with an'inner-race 2I at the sprocket end 'of the hollow hub Z 3, which surrounds the worm-and axle,to form atrack 'gfor-the' ball-bear- 2 5. "The hub 2s3 has-agradialQflangelkapproximatelyimthe plane *ofthe bearingsmvith apertures .29 thereon whereby the spokes A of :the wheel may be connect d thereto.

An outwardly opening brake drum3l *has' its inner side wall 33 rigidly attach d by suitable means such as -rivets 35 ;to a radialfla-nge 31 p "the hub 23whichis intermediate the-ends there- ;of.- A radial anchor plate 39' is mounted; in 'fix'e d axial-position onthe axle I as bythe nuts -'4 la-nd 43- 110 form in "efiect anouter side wall 'for the drum :-3I which -is spac d slightly beyond the outer-end lfi of='=the ;hub- 23. A pair of expandible semi-circular brake shoes 41 are pivotally connected together and to the anchor plate 39 in the usual manner by means of the pin or anchor bolt 49. An expanding cam member has a stem 53 which is pivotally mounted in a bushing 55 in the anchor plate and axially connected thereto by means of a, nut 51 threaded on the stem 53. The free ends of the brake shoes 41 may have wear plates 59 thereover, which are engaged by the elongated cam portion 6| (Fig. 4), having flat sides and rounded ends, of the cam member 5|. A washer 63 may be aifixed, as by the screw or rivet 65, to the inner end of the cam member 5| to bear upon the sides of the brake shoes 41 and thus prevent outward axial movement of the member.

The brake shoes 41 are yieldably held in contracted position by means of the tension springs 61 and 69 on either side of their axis which connect them together. The expanding cam 5| is pivotally moved in its bearing 55 by means of a gear sector 1| which has a noncircular bore by means of which it is keyed to a noncircular portion of the cam stem 53 as shown at 13 (Fig. 4) The sector 1| has peripheral gear teeth 15 which engage the peripheral teeth of the gear 11 which is likewise keyed by means of a noncircular bore to a brake actuator 19 as shown at 8| (Fig. 3) The nut 43 holds the gear 11 against the outer radial shoulder of a radial flange 18 formed on the actuator 19. The brake actuator 19 is 1'0- tatably mounted on the axle whereby it is capable of rotating the gears 1| and 11 and thus of expanding the brake shoes 41 through the medium of the cam 5|. The flange 19 has the inner radial face or shoulder which is shaped to provide a bearing race or cone 83 and lies in approximately the plane of an outer radial flange 85 which has spoke holes 81 on the drum 3|. It will be noted that the anchor plate 39 and the sector 11 may be curved or dished outwardly as shown at 89 so that the plane of the race 83 and the plane of the flange 85 are as nearly coincident as practicable. The drum end 45 of the hub 23 has an inner ball race or core 9| which cooperates with the race 83 to provide a track for the ball bearings 93 whereby the hub is rotatably mounted on the actuator 19 and thus rotatably connected to the axle I.

The inner end of the actuator 19 has ratchet teeth 95 which are engaged by similar teeth 91 in the end of a clutch member 99. The clutch 99 is internally threaded on the worm teeth |9| of the drive worm 1 so that it moves axially toward the actuator 19 when the sprocket I3 is back-pedaled and in the reverse axial direction when the sprocket I3 is rotated forwardly. Idle rotation of the clutch 99 rather than axial movement when the worm 1 is rotated is yieldably prevented by a retarding ring I93 (Fig. 7) of known design comprising an annular resilient spring continuously engaging the outer peripheries of both the actuator and clutch. The clutch has a knurled, conical, outer surface I95 which engages a tapered bore I01 in the hub 23 in a friction drive when the sprocket l3 and worm 1 are rotated forwardly to move the clutch 99 axially to the right. I

The worm 1 may have an annular stop ring I99 to limit axial travel of the clutch 99 toward the actuator 19 and thus relieve the bearings of load due to axial pressure between clutches 95 and 91. If desired a shield I may be attached to the worm 1 over the shoulder l5 and the end of hub 23 to prevent entrance of foreign mate- 4 rial into the bearing 25. Also, if desired, an annular deflector plate 3 may surround the end 45 of the hub 23 and be aflixed as by the welds ||5 to the anchor plate 39 to prevent entrance of foreign material from the brake drum into the bearings 93 or passage of grease from the bearing to the drum.

In operation, as the sprocket |3 and attached worm 1 are rotated forwardly, the clutch 99 is driven axially into engagement with the hub bore I91. This engagement prevents further axial movement of the clutch so that it is rotated by the worm 1 and the frictional engagement between its outer surface I95 and the bore I91 is sufficient to transmit the rotary motion of the worm and sprocket to the hub 23 which therefore rotates on the end bearings 25 and 93. Rotation of the hub and afiixed drum 3| is transmitted through the spoke flanges 21 and to the spokes A and thus to the periphery of the bicycle wheel (not shown) to cause forward movement of the bicycle.

When it is desired to cease forward motion of the bicycle, the sprocket l3 and worm 1 are backpedaled or rotated in reverse. This drives the clutch 99 leftward so that its teeth 91 engage the teeth 95 of the brake actuator 19. This motion of the clutch 99 is limited by the stop ring |09 so that axial forces are not transmitted to the actuator. Continued reverse movement of the worm 1 causes the clutch 99 to rotate the actuator 19. Rotation of the actuator 19 rotates the gear 11 and the interconnected sector 1| and this pivots the cam 5| so that the cam portion 8| spreads the wear plates 59 apart against the resistance of springs 61 and 69 and forces the stationary brake shoes into frictional engagement with the inner periphery of the rotating drum 3| to brake the wheel in the conventional manner. When braking forces are released from the worm 1, the springs 61 and 59 contract the brake shoes. Because of the shape of the cam portion 6|, the spring forces transmitted thereto from the wear plates 59 cause it to rotate back to its inactive position where the flat sides thereof are in engagement with the Wear plates. This rotation of the cam member 5| is transmitted through the gears 1| and 11 to the brake actuator 19 which rotates in the forward direction with regard to the worm 1. This rotation is transmitted to the clutch 99 by the resilient retarding ring I03 and since the worm 1 is stationary the clutch is moved axially thereon to the right into incipient engagement with the hub bore |91. Thus, when the worm 1 is rotated for wardly bythe sprocket l3, the clutch 99 does not have the opportunityto build up suflicient momentum before it engages the bore I91 to cause a shock load uponthe parts. This feature therefore reduces the thrust and wear on the bearings.

In addition to this advantageous feature of construction, ,it will be noted that by placing. the spoke flanges on the outer edges of the drum 3| and hub 23 and arranging the actuating mechanism therein that a desirably compact brake and hub assemblyhas been provided which is substantially entirely between the wheel spokes. Furthermore, by arranging the bearings 25 and 93 approximately in the planes of the spoke flanges the reaction loads received by the hub from the spokes are transmitted to the bearings without the addition of further components due to overhang, thus reducing the thrust on the bearings and prolonging the life thereof.

Other advantages of the invention as well as certain modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art, hence it is not in tended to limit it to the specific details hereinbefore mentioned.

What is claimed is: r

In a coaster brake and hub assembly for bicycle wheels or the like having an axle, the combination of a hub, a brake drum shell having an annular braking surface coaxial with said axle, said shell having spoke anchors on its outer edge and an inwardly extending radial web on its inner edge, said web being affixed to the hub intermediate the ends of the hub, a brake actuator rotatably mounted on the axle at the drum end thereof and having an outwardly facing radial shoulder adjacent its outer end, a gear drivably mounted on the outer end of the actuator and in engagement with the outer face of said radial shoulder, a nut threaded on the axle and abutting the outer face of the gear to hold it against said radial shoulder, said actuator having an inwardly facing radial shoulder spaced inwardly from the outer shoulder and located approximately in the plane of the spoke anchors and being shaped to provide a ball bearing race, the drum end of said hub being internally formed to provide a ball bearing race cooperating with said actuator race, ball bearings between said races whereby spoke load is transmitted from the drum to the axle without substantial overhang, a radial anchor plate mounted on the axle and abutting the outer end of said nut, another nut threaded on the axle to clamp the plate between said nuts, expanding brake shoes pivoted inside said drum on said plate, an expanding cam for said shoes pivoted on said anchor plate and extending inwardly toward said radial web, and a gear sector having teeth engaging and driven by said gear, said sector engaging and movable upon the inner face'of said anchor plate and having a driving engagement with the expanding cam at a plane adjacent the inner face of the anchor plate, and means whereby the brake actuator is operated upon back-pedalling.

' WALTER L. HALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,143,798 Ribe Jan. 10, 1939 2,291,486 Musselman July 28, 1941 2,321,150 Lewis June 8, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 766,511 France Apr. 16, 1934 

